Can sensor technology stop a wildfire before it starts? | New Scientist

The US Department of Homeland Security is trialling chemical sensors that detect the first whiff of smoke in the air and alert fire crews while a potential blaze is still smouldering

By Madeleine Cuff

22 October 2024

The Lahaina fire devastated Hawaii in 2023

Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP/Alamy

The following is an extract from our climate newsletter Fix the Planet. Sign up to receive it for free in your inbox every month.

On 8 August 2023, after days of windy weather, utility poles toppled into the long grass just outside the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. A few minutes later, the first flames flickered around the downed power lines. Within minutes a brush fire erupted.

The fire was declared fully contained by firefighters, but a few hours later it was whipped…

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